90% Tripura turnout sends hopes soaring

AGARTALA: The voter turnout in the Tripura assembly election has touched the 90%-mark and may go up even further after counting of postal ballots on March 3. Nearly 92% of the electorate had exercised their franchise in the last election in 2013.
"The voting percentage now stands at 90%. The returning officers are still in the process of entering the numbers in their respective booths into the system.The percentage is expected to go further up when the postal ballots are taken into account," Tripura chief electoral officer Sriram Taranikanti said on Monday.
"Tripura is known for high turnout and has lived up to its name this time as well, though with a slightly lower percentage than the previous two elections," he said. All the EVMs have been stored in strong rooms with adequate security and the Election Commission has decided to keep central forces in the state till the entire election process gets over, he said, adding that voting continued till late at night in many places despite snags in EVM and VVPAT. He said the last team of election officials returned around 1am and the process of EVM submission got over in the morning.
The high turnout has raised hopes for both the ruling Left Front and main challenger BJP. "The high polling percentage is normal in Tripura. We are confident that people have voted for us, the way they always have," CPM Tripura secretary Bijan Dhar said. Dismissing "antiincumbency" factor, Dhar added, "Why will the people vote against a government that is democratic, pro-poor and not authoritarian?"
BJP, however, claimed that the high turnout is because the "votes are genuine" this time. Sunil Deodhar, BJP's Tripura observer, said, "This time the high turnout is a call for change. The high polling percentage is due to genuine voting. It is not through fake voters or booth-capturing - something the Left has been doing all this while."